In addition to Stan Curtis’ regular wise commentary on matters audio, here musing on pioneers of the analysis of subtle effects such as vibration on audio quality, Martin Colloms scrutinises the top of the line LINN KLIMAX Katalyst DS digital audio player, the one where the powerful DSP even includes micro correction for the tiniest errors emanating from the audio output transformers.

LINN Klimax Katalyst

​Kevin Fiske temporarily eschews his large high sensitivity Audio Note UK loudspeakers for a pair of long established stand mount compacts the D2-II from those painstaking industry stalwarts, PROAC.

PROAC D2 2

​Andrew Everard has penned a comprehensive rundown on voice operation, the hands free technology, including the devices and the connected systems under such control, especially for music replay.

Keith Howard is fascinated by audio coding formats and here applies his well known analytical skills to unravelling the available DSD formats, including the highest definition, and how they work and how well they sound. ​Colloms was sent a moderate cost speaker cable, a new design from QED called the XT-25 and had enough time to run it in before formal testing.

QED XT-25

Andrew Everard has a penchant for Rotel, or so it seems, and finds the strong points in their latest multi-format high power integrated amplifier Rotel RA-1572.

Colloms tackles the new Magico POD accessory feet upgrades for the entire range of Magico S series speakers, not to be taken lightly, not least in respect of the 100kg per loudspeaker weight of his own Magico S5 MKII examples.

Magico SPOD

Chris Frankland samples a new Spendor, the A4, while the editor Paul Messenger tackles the substantial floor standing Focal Scala EVO loudspeaker and a new design, the Marauder from Modern British Audio with a full range driver.

Spendor A4

FOCAL SCALA EVO

An expert reporter provides the low down on the most popular of those heated glass bottles, namely the triode.